Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle
by Fangirl.StarterPack
Summary: A series of oneshots based off of the Jay and Abi relationship which have been inspired by the songs that came up on my iPod when I put it on shuffle. I hope you like it! This is my first story so please give me feedback and follow my account for new updates. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 1.

Song: Crosseyed – Bad Veins.

" _Not supposed to go all cross-eyed silencing what is right for you and me."_

Abi had walked past the stairs in the hall at least three times now. Her daughter had barely moved a muscle in the past twenty minutes. She just sat there with the same worried expression, distorting her beautiful features. Abi couldn't take it anymore. She knew that her daughter was going out to meet a 'friend' today, but that was no reason for her to be worried. Abi had the niggling feeling that it was a boy. Obviously, the fourteen year old was too worried to tell her parents about this, and Abi couldn't blame her. When Abi thought back to how her parents – more specifically, her father – had acted when they found out she was dating none other than Jay Mitchell, they had lost it. However, Abi couldn't help but feel hurt that her only child didn't think she could talk to her own mother. And she knew she should have stayed out of her business, but this was just about killing her. Skidding to a stop in front of the steps, she took a deep breath before finally mustering up the courage to face her daughter.

"So," Abi had started, moving to perch on the step next to her daughter. "Who's the friend you're meeting?" Abi saw as her daughter's eyes doubled in size, her bottom lip starting to become clenched between her teeth.

"You wouldn't know them," Karen muttered quickly before looking at her lap to avoid eye contact. Abi let a small smile twitch onto her lips as she leaned towards her daughter and lowered her voice.

"It's a boy, isn't it?"

"N-No. I-I don't know w-what you're-" Abi cut off her stuttering with a knowing smile. Karen sighed in defeat and looked up to the ceiling, as if begging God for this conversation not to happen. "I just… I really like him, mum."

Abi's heart ached as she looked at the beautiful girl in front of her. Abi remembered a time when she had, had this exact conversation with Tanya, her mum, about Jay. They'd sat on the stairs next to the living room and Abi had poured her heart out. She didn't think she was good enough for Jay and the idea of him laughing in her face because of her feeling for him was torture. She wanted him to know how she felt about him, but was scared about what would happen if the outcome took a turn for the worse. Yes, she knew exactly what Karen was going through.

"He must be a lucky guy, then. Boys would kill to even get a second glance from a girl like you," Abi said as her daughter scoffed, scowling at the air in front of her.

"You have to say that. You're my mum," the girl tutted, rolling her eyes.

"Not necessarily," Abi smirked. "I could say you're rotten and 'orrible," she joked, causing Karen to giggle. "But, then I would be lying. And this boy, whoever he is, must be able to see how amazing you are."

"I don't know, mum," Karen replied doubtfully. "I just… I don't know if he likes me back." This caused Abi to let out a loud laugh while nudging her daughter affectionately.

"You are a numpty sometimes," Abi giggled. "What boy wouldn't like _you_?"

"Well, there are times when I think that he might… And then he'll just do something that will completely throw me off," she says, exasperated. Again, Abi could understand this feeling. There were times in her and Jay's relationship where she thought he just didn't care; that he was too embarrassed by her to even be associated with her. But, then there were the other times. There were the times where he'd introduce her to his friends as _his_ girlfriend or he'd walk around The Square with her like he was dating God's gift. It was in those moments that she thought that, that was just how boys behaved. Especially Jay. He didn't want people to know that he needed love just as much as a hormonal, teenage girl on her period. And, Abi will admit, sometimes she got fed up with Jay wanting all this love and never giving it back. Abi had always found people with double-standards extremely annoying and hypocritical, but she would never call Jay out on it. She wouldn't risk losing him over something that, at the time, she thought was a bit pathetic. But, she didn't want Karen to behave like that. She didn't want Karen to run around after this boy like a little, lost puppy. Although Abi absolutely loved Jay at the time, it was quite belittling to behave how she did. Abi wanted her daughter to believe that a relationship was equal and fair.

"Even though I am one hundred percent sure that this boy likes you… There is a way to be sure," Abi hinted, her mind jumping back to that conversation on the stairs with her own mother. Karen's eyes seemed to glow with hope when Abi said this. The poor girl looked so confused about the situation and Abi probably would have even asked the boy out _for_ her if it would stop her feeling this anxious.

"Really?" Karen said, a surge of optimism running through her. "How?"

"If he closes his eyes when he kisses you, then he likes you."

"Oh, I don't think-" Karen refused profusely before being cut off by Abi.

"Trust me, darling. There will be kissing," Abi concluded, sending her daughter a sly wink. Karen let her features relax as a small, embarrassed smile work its way onto her lips.

"Thanks mum," Karen just had time to say before there was a knock at the door. Karen took a deep breath, looking up to Abi in hopes of her calming her nerves. Abi just squeezed Karen's shoulders and moved herself out of the way.

"I think it's for you," she whispered dramatically, giving Karen an encouraging smile. In return, Karen nodded and walked to the door as Abi moved herself to the kitchen. Thinking back now, Abi thought that her mum had never given her better advice.

It was about six o'clock in the evening when Abi's husband had come home from work. Abi was busy in the kitchen making dinner for the two of them, considering Karen was still on her date with this mystery boy. She hoped that this was the start of many dates for Karen with this boy, even if it meant that she had to try and persuade her protective husband into agreeing with her on the subject.

She heard him kick off his shoes near the front door and walk through the hallway and into the kitchen. Abi smiled as she felt familiar arms wrap around her waist and soft lips kiss a trail up the back of her neck. He rested his head on her shoulder and watched her as she chopped up the chicken for their curry. This was how he greeted Abi every time he came home from work and it still gave her butterflies when he did it. She quickly placed down the knife and swivelled round in his grip to greet him.

"Afternoon, Abs. Looking as lovely as ever," Jay said, placing a light kiss on her nose. Abi laughed softly while putting her arms over his shoulders, locking her hand together behind his neck.

"Afternoon, Mr Mitchell. How was work?" She asked softly.

"Busy," Jay replied with a groan. Even though The Archers no longer existed, Jay had pursued a career as a car mechanic and was one of the best in the business. He loved his job (or, more specifically, the amount of money it gave him every month) but it was definitely tiring. "Where's Karen?"

"If I tell you," Abi started cautiously, "you have to promise you won't get mad…" Abi watched as Jay's jaw locked and his features hardened. He hated it when Abi kept secrets, even if she had only found out today.

"Where is she, Abi?" He said sternly, obviously not in the mood to joke around. Abi bit her lip nervously, a habit she had passed onto her daughter.

"She's on a date," Abi said, eventually. "With a boy."

"Well, I didn't think she was going to be on a date with a table, did I?" Jay said, aggressively. Abi wanted to argue that she could have been on a date with a girl, but decided that it would probably just make it worse to correct him.

"Don't be mad, Jay. Besides, we had a nice girl-chat and it's all sorted."

"Oh, great. _You_ sorted it," Jay scoffed, rolling his eyes. Abi would admit that, out of the two of them, Jay was better at 'laying down the law' in the house. But, Abi was more than capable to give her daughter some advice and she didn't like the fact that Jay didn't think she was able to do so.

"Yeah. And she's obviously completely screwed if my taste in men is anything to go by," Abi retorted, glaring at him before breaking out of his grip and turning back to the dinner. Jay sighed stressfully, regretting what he said.

"Abs, I didn't mean it like that. Just… Tell me what you said to her." Abi placed the knife down again, harder this time as if warning him not to push his luck, and whirled back around to face him.

"I told her about the day of our first kiss."

"What?" Jay asked, completely confused. Why would Abi tell their daughter about their awkward, sorry excuse of a first kiss? Did she want to scar her for life?

"Before you came over that day, I was a nervous wreck. I had a hundred and one questions running through my head about whether you liked me or whether you would think I looked good in the outfit I was wearing or if you would laugh at me if I tried to kiss you…" She paused, taking in Jay's still confused, but slightly shocked expression. She swallowed hard before continuing, looking for an invisible thread on her shirt. "And then my mum obviously caught on. She sat down next to me and we talked for a while about you and 'boy-etiquette' in general. Finally, she told me that, if you really liked me, you'd kiss me with your eyes closed. And, that's what I told Karen."

"You told our daughter to kiss this boy on her first date?"

"Oh, for God's sake, Jay!" Abi exclaimed, turning away from him again. He laughed quietly, turning her back around to face him.

"Only joking, Abs… ish," he said, making her smile slightly. "Were you really that nervous?" Abi stared at the tiled floor and scuffed the balls of her feet on it gently.

"Well, yeah," Abi said quietly, embarrassed. "I mean, you were _Jay Mitchell_ ," she said, making him scoff and laugh at the same time. "You weren't supposed to like someone like me. Not chubby, nerdy, Abi Branning. You were supposed to like girls like Lauren and Lucy and Lola… Maybe just someone beginning with an L, actually," he laughed again and this time she even managed to crack a smile. "What I'm trying to say is: no one in their right mind would have paired me and you together. And I thought you were part of the 'no one' group." Once Jay was sure she was done, he used his index finger to lift her chin so she would look at him and rested his forehead firmly on top of hers.

"For a vet, you can be pretty stupid sometime, Abi," he laughed before kissing her. The kiss was short, but slow and strong. Even though Abi knew she was right about the two of them not looking like they would fit, she was really happy they did. Now that Abi thought about it, Abi wouldn't be _Abi_ without Jay. It was like he made up half of her personality. She may not have thought that she was good enough for him (and part of her still didn't) but she was so glad that someone Upstairs obviously wanted them to work. They may have hit a few bumps in the road and they may fight like cat and dog, but Abi couldn't imagine life without Jay in it.

"So, does this mean you're not going to be mad at Karen and that you're not going to kill her potential boyfriend?.." Abi asked after she pulled away.

"Okay… But, I want to meet him!" Jay rushed out, still not completely convinced that his little girl dating at the age of fourteen was a good idea (yeah, yeah. Call him a hypocrite…) "And, you might want to rethink that advice you gave her."

"What are you talking about?" Abi asked.

"Because I could have kissed you cross-eyed and I still would have fallen completely in love with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 2.

Song: I Know What You Did Last Summer – Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello.

" _It's tearing me apart and she's slipping away. Am I just hanging on to all the words she used to say?"_

They had been sat in that room in dead silence for four minutes and thirty-six seconds. Abi knew. She had been counting the seconds to keep her sane in that moment. Dexter had to be joking, right? He liked to wind Jay and Abi up all the time. There was no way _her_ Jay could actually cheat on her, right? She knew he had been acting funny at the end of the trip (and so had Dexter, now that she thought about it) but that had to be a coincidence. Jay _loved_ Abi. He wanted her kid, for crying out loud. There was no way he would cheat on her.

"Dext," Abi whispered slowly, taking deep breaths, "you are joking, aren't you."

"Abs…" Dexter had started only to be talked over by a floundering Abi.

"No because Jay's not like that. Jay wouldn't do that to me, would you, Jay? You wouldn't cheat on me, would you?" Abi was desperately trying to stay calm, but she was losing it. She felt like she was about to explode into a ball of flames and then evaporate into thin air.

"Abi, I…" Jay tried before closing his mouth and leaning his head against the doorframe, scrunching his eyes closed like he was in serious pain. All the blood drained out of Abi's cheeks and dribbled onto the floor with all the sanity she had left. Her blinking eyes were as big as saucers, no emotion being shown. Jay would have preferred tears, if he was being honest. Sad, crying Abi he could handle. He'd give her space; if that's what she wanted, or he'd hug her until she stopped. But this… Now, this was torture. Jay always thought he could read Abi like a book (and, most of the time, he could) but, right now, he wasn't sure if she was going to scream or smile. And it absolutely terrified him.

"Oh… You would," Abi said statically, standing up from her seat with shaky knees and walking out into the hallway. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She didn't want to cry, or yell or fight like she normally would when Jay did something wrong. She just wanted to _breathe._ Inhaling deeply through her nose, she leant against the wall and pulled out her phone before dialling Lauren's number. It only took a few rings before she picked up.

"Hello? Abi?" Lauren asked through the phone. Abi squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to put on a calm, steady voice while walking slowly towards the kitchen.

"Hi, Lauren. It's Abi," she said, trying out her voice for this conversation.

"Yeah, Abs… I know," Lauren laughed nervously on the other end of the phone, starting to get worried. "Is there something wrong?"

"Do you think you could find somewhere to stay tonight that's not… You know, here?" Abi asked quietly as Dexter stood in the doorway. Abi put her hand over the speaker and mouthed to him to get out, in which he replied by shaking his head stubbornly. Abi quickly turned away from him, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to stay focused on the conversation she was having with her sister.

"Yeah, um, that's fine. I can ask Lucy if I can crash at hers… Are you sure everything is alright Abs?" Lauren asked, more insistently this time. A few tears escaped from underneath her eyelids which she brushed away quickly.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Promise," she replied in a broken whisper, taking shaky breaths to stop her from having a complete breakdown.

"Abi-"

"Please, Lauren. Please don't come home. I'm dealing with it, okay? Just give me tonight to deal with it and then I'll tell you everything," Abi pleaded as hot, fat tears dripped from her face. Dexter stepped forward, waiting for her to get off the phone so he could comfort her.

"Okay, Abi. Okay. I won't come home, but you call me if you need me, okay? And if you want me to come home at any time you just have to ring me or text me and I'll be right home. I love you, okay?" Lauren was really worried now. Abi wasn't the type of person to ring up her sister, crying, in the middle of the night. No, it was usually the other way round. Lauren knew that whatever had happened was _bad._ She would get it out of her tomorrow even if it killed her.

"I love you too," Abi sobbed, desperately trying to control herself. "See you tomorrow." She pressed the 'End' button and dropped her phone onto the table. She pushed her hand into her hair and gripped, tight, while murmuring to herself to stop crying. After she'd managed to considerably calm herself, she turned to Dexter with an arsenal of questions ready to be fired.

"Abs-"

"When did it happen?" Abi asked, not in the mood to mess around. She wanted to talk to him, then talk to Jay, and then go to bed.

"At the end of the holiday. He was in the pub with the barmaid, Kitty I think, when I walked in on the two of them. It was only a kiss," Dexter had sung like a Canary, obviously noticing the new fire burning behind Abi's eyes. On the holiday? After she'd told him she thought she was pregnant? After _he'd_ given _her_ some massive speech about not really knowing each other and _loyalty_? _Was he for real?_

"And you've known all this time?" Abi asked, crossing her arms over her chest, dropping one hip, and raising an eyebrow. She wasn't crying anymore. She wasn't even sad anymore. Words couldn't even describe what she was feeling. The best way to describe it was that she felt like she had enough energy to run to Africa and back. She was on a serious adrenaline rush and it was making every part of her body shake.

"Well, yeah…" Dexter muttered, confused. Abi let out a humourless laugh and Dexter was sure he could feel the anger radiating off her. He took an unnoticeable step back towards the kitchen door, afraid that Abi was about to grab a knife out of the drawer and run him through.

"Yeah, what? You didn't think to tell his girlfriend, your _cousin_ , that her boyfriend was cheating on her? Did that slip your mind, Dext?" Abi wasn't shouting, she didn't even sound angry. It just sounded like she couldn't actually get her head around the whole situation. For years, in Abi's eyes, Jay had always been this untouchable, perfect goal for her to reach and obtain. She'd spent so long trying to make him like her, taking careful steps and precautions to make sure she didn't slip up. It was always her who was in the wrong. She thought she was always going to be the one to mess things up and then he'd eventually just get fed up with it and dump her. She'd never thought she was good enough for a boy like Jay. She was always comparing herself to girls like her sister and her friends just as much as the rest of the world was. She never thought she was pretty enough or skinny enough or smart enough because there was always someone who had done it better. There was always someone _else_ that people would go to instead of her. She couldn't have expected Jay to be any different.

"It wasn't like that, Abs. We just didn't want you to get hurt. Lola really wanted to tell you-" Dexter cut himself off, eyes becoming so wide they practically took up his whole face. _Lola_ knew? Her best friend? And she didn't tell Abi? _She's probably Jay's next conquest,_ Abi thought bitterly as she swallowed the bile that rose to the back of her throat. She needed to talk to Jay before she couldn't physically take any more disappointment.

"Is Jay still in the living room?" Abi asked quietly, preparing herself for the next part of this terrible evening. She saw Dexter nod sadly, shifting uncomfortably in his spot. "I need you to leave us, okay?"

"'Course, Abs," Dexter said, giving his cousin a hug and kissing her on the cheek. "I'll come over tomorrow, yeah? Go to the café in my lunch break?" Abi nodded, not really being able to think about tomorrow when she still had to deal with all this drama tonight. Dexter gave her shoulders a squeeze before turning on his heel and walking towards the door.

"Dext," Abi called after him, just as he opened the front door, "go home, okay? You're mum's probably worried about you." Dexter nodded to her before walking out of the house and shutting the door behind him. Now, it was just the two of them.

As Abi walked into the living room and sat down on what was known as 'Max's Chair', she got a good look at the boy she was in love with. He looked up at her with frightened, silvery-blue eyes that made Abi just want to hug him and pretend none of this had even happened. He was bouncing his knee up and down, a nervous habit he had never been able to get rid of. In all of their years together, Abi had never seen the Mitchell so nervous. Then again, Abi had never thought she would have this much of an effect on him, either.

"I don't blame you, you know," Abi started and was surprised that she actually meant it. She had been waiting for this throughout their whole relationship and she was expecting it to happen much earlier. "I mean, I saw her. She was absolutely stunning-"

"She was nothing compared to you," Jay butted in. Abi looked at him for a minute, trying to decide whether or not to let him continue. Eventually, she sat back in her chair and waited for him to carry on. "I was so stupidly mad at you for that whole pregnancy thing and I just wanted to get drunk to forget all about it. And, Abs, she was just there and she was listening to me and… It lasted about three seconds before Dexter walked in." Abi felt her heart break a little bit. So, it was her fault.

"I always listened to you…" Abi whispered brokenly, more trying to console herself that she was a good girlfriend than convince him. Jay shot out of his seat and was on his knees in front of her in seconds.

"You did, babe. Of course you did. That's not… I've never really been the best at explaining things, have I?" Abi let out a small, watery laugh as she felt a new wave of tears spring to her eyes. She wasn't cry because of what he'd done. She was crying because she never thought she could possibly push him to being unfaithful. She didn't realize that she was _that bad_.

"I'm really sorry, Jay," she cried, profusely wiping tears from her cheeks in a vain effort to at least be part of what he wants.

"What? Abi, come on. What have you got to be sorry for, eh?" Jay comforted, worry laced throughout his tone.

"I'm sorry I'm not good enough."

"Abi, what the hell are you talking about? You're everything to me," Jay insisted, forcing her to look at him. Abi let out a quiet sob she'd been holding in as she tried to calm herself enough to be able to string a sentence together.

"But, she-"

"She was a mistake, Abi!" Jay exclaimed, trying desperately to make her see sense. "She was a one-time, stupid mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life, okay? She's nothing. She will never be anything in my life. But, you? Abs…" He trailed off, cupping her tear-drenched face in his hands. "I love you, Abi."

"And I love you. So much," Abi insisted, wrapping her hands around his wrists. "But, I'm never going to be Kitty, Jay. So, if she's what you want, I need you to tell me."

"I don't want you to be anyone other than Abi Branning. Well, actually…" Jay smirked shyly to himself and looked down at her lap.

"What?.." Abi asked, more worry twisting itself into a knot in her stomach.

"I think 'Abi Mitchell' has quite a nice ring to it," Jay said, laughing as Abi's eyes doubled in size. "Not _now_ , you muppet," he laughed, watching as his beautiful girlfriend finally let herself smile. "But… definitely in the future. If that's what you want?"

"Is that what _you_ want?" Abi retorted. Jay rolled his eyes before leaning forward and kissing her hard on the mouth. Abi's arms moved to wrap around his neck as she melted into it, Jay's hand resting on her waist while rubbing circles with his thumbs. He pulled away, just, and stared at her slightly parted, wet lips and closed eyes.

"I want that more than anything in the world," he breathed against her lips. She nodded against him, kissing him quickly again.

"Then it didn't happen," Abi said strongly. "The kiss, the pregnancy, the fight- in fact the whole holiday, it just didn't happen, okay?"

"Deal."


	3. Chapter 3

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 3.

Song: For The First Time – The Script.

" _We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time."_

Jay hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. At all. He'd just finished his shift at The Archers and was looking forward to going home and getting some sleep. In his defence, he'd had a shit day – to put it nicely. Three cars had come in to be M.O.T-ed, he had one in the shop that needed the whole wind shield replaced after a bad accident, and he needed to remove the dents out of a Range Rover before the day was done. With Dexter being 'ill' and Phil having to deal with other business, Jay was all on his own. He'd worked through his breaks so he was absolutely starving and then done an extra two hours; _unpaid._ Not to mention the fact that the woman on the phone, who was discussing in great detail what Jay should keep an eye out for when he M.O.T-ed her car, was talking to him in an extremely rude manner, which had put Jay in an even worse mood. Jay wasn't good at a lot of things, but he was definitely more capable at doing his job than some snotty, middle-aged tart.

So, yeah, Jay had other things on his mind. And, to be fair, she couldn't have been paying too much attention either otherwise it wouldn't have happened. She had been walking just as fast and just as carelessly as he had. Although, he'll admit, he hadn't handled the situation very nicely.

He'd just rounded the corner on his way to Billy's when he'd absolutely smashed into someone. He's stumbled backwards, but managed to cling onto the wall of a house to stop himself from falling. The person he'd bumped into, however, didn't have that much luck. He heard the slapping of bare skin hitting the concrete and a yelp of pain. But, Jay was too fed up to show any sympathy.

"Watch where the hell you're-!" Jay had started yelling before noticing Abi Branning on the floor, desperately trying to collect the loose pieces of paper that had scattered around her. With guilt twisting in the pit of his stomach, Jay quickly knelt on the floor with her to gather up all of her work. Taking quick glances at what had been written on the many pages he picked up, he noticed it was hundreds of pages of notes all dedicated to the subject of maths. Some pages included step-by-step guides on how to solve particular equations, but most were just working out that had been scribbled over or massive red crosses where she'd obviously gone wrong. Jay could see in her working out where she'd gone wrong. Although Jay would never admit it to anyone, he was actually brilliant at maths. For some reason, he could just look at a page of numbers and _get it._ Abi, on the other hand, was losing the will to live with the subject. She'd gone over each individual page they were currently picking up at least fifteen times and she was still getting it wrong. She'd spent hours trying to understand even slightly how to do it, but it had gotten to the point where she had been on the verge of tears because she was that frustrated with it. She'd tried every form of revision to try to remember it and was close to resorting to eating the paper in hopes of absorbing some of the information that way.

"Sorry," Abi had muttered profusely while her hands fluttered around the papers on floor. She wasn't in the mood for this either and she especially wasn't interested in getting in a fight with Jay Mitchell. The last time Abi could remember speaking to him was after his dad had died and he'd basically told her to get lost. He'd told her he didn't want her friendship – and Abi didn't need to be told twice.

"My fault," Jay had replied, handing her the pile of papers he'd picked up. They'd both stood up at the same time and were awkwardly stood in each other's personal bubble. Abi took a step back and swayed back on forth on her feet, praying for this situation to be over so she could go home. "So… You not getting maths, or something?" Abi had frowned at the intrusion of her privacy and glared at him.

"Not that it's any of your business," Abi had claimed defensively, hugging her work to her stomach, "but, yes, I have been getting a few things wrong recently." _More like all the work from the whole bloody term,_ Abi had thought to herself as she watched Jay scratch the back of his neck out of nervous habit.

"Well, I could… um… help you out, if you wanted?" Jay asked quietly. _Huh,_ Jay thought to himself, _why hadn't I noticed how pretty she was before? Had her eyes always been_ that _intense?_

" _You_ want to help _me_?" Abi laughed in shock. Jay Mitchell shouldn't even want to breathe the same as Abi, let alone help her with something as intellectual and mundane as maths.

"Well, don't sound too surprised," Jay scoffed in offence. That's what he got for trying to be nice.

"No, it's not that. It's just…" _just that I've had a crush on you for as long as I can remember…_ "Forget it. I would love help, if you're offering. Meet me in the café tomorrow at, say… Six?" Abi asked taking a few steps backwards in the direction if her house.

"Yeah, okay. It's a date," Jay confirmed, not realizing what he was saying until the words had already fallen out of that stupid mouth of his.

"Okay," Abi agreed, giving him a small, shy smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Jay had said numbly before watching her dart away. _Oh God. This was going to be interesting…_


	4. Chapter 4

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 4.

Song: Wild Things – Alessia Cara.

" _And we will leave the empty chairs to those who say we can't sit there."_

Jay had stuck up for Abi a lot in the time they knew each other. It became a common occurrence when they were dating. Abi was hardly the most popular girl in the whole of Walford and she was usually a prime target for bullies. Abi specifically remembers a time when she had been looking for a seat in the Vic so she could do some revision in peace. Her parents had been fighting _again_ and Abi was sick of having to read over the same thing twenty time in order to remember it. Maybe a pub wasn't the best place to try and do school work, but it had to be better than home.

The Vic had been packed, what with most people getting off of work at the time she walked in, and there wasn't a spare seat in sight. Abi was contemplating whether or not to leave and just give up with revising for the evening. That was until she spotted a group of girls in her year sat around a round table, drinking Coke and laughing. Maybe if she could just sit on the table with them, she'd be able to block them out and get at least a bit of work done.

Taking a deep breath, she took quick steps towards their table. As she approached, she saw all the girl's faces change from happy smiles to bitchy glares, the laughter and meaningless chatter coming to an immediate stop. She smiled at one of them, the one that seemed to be the group leader, and adjusted her grip on her books. She could feel some of the girls raking their eyes up and down her body, looking for the slightest imperfection that they could laugh at behind her back. Or to her face. These girls didn't really care.

"Hi," Abi had started, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. Realising she wasn't going to get a greeting in response; she cleared her throat and continued through her embarrassment. "Do you think I could sit with you guys?"

"Are you serious?" One of the girls laughed, scowling so much her drawn on, caterpillar eyebrows were nearly touching. "Why would we want to be associated with you, _Scabi_?" The girls laughed at her as Abi tried to ignore the nickname that had haunted her since she was twelve. It didn't even mean anything. There was no shameful time where Abi had been covered in scabs. She wasn't one of those weirdos who used to pick their scabs and eat it. No. She'd been giving that name because some _genius_ had thought that her name sounded like the word 'scab'. For some stupid reason, the name had stuck – and Abi hated it.

"I just wanted somewhere to sit…" Abi had whispered pathetically. Why did this have to happen to her? She was a good person; she was nice to literally _everyone._ What had she done to deserve this?

"Well, then I guess you'll have to sit on the floor," one of the minions had said snidely, "where you belong."

"Oi," someone had said loudly from behind her, cutting off the groups cackling. "Speak to her like that again and the only person who will be in the floor is you." Abi turned around to see Jay Mitchell sat there on his own, looking absolutely furious.

"And who do you think you are?" Head-bitch had scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Who _I_ am is none of your business, sweetheart. But, considering your eyebrows look like they're about to fly away, I think you should join them." Abi couldn't help the laugh that fell out of her lips. Jay's eyes had flickered to her and she could see the beginning of a smile etching its way onto his face. The girl had gasped in shock before shutting her mouth and pouting as her friends started making comments about Abi and the boy who was with her.

"Thanks," Abi had said quickly to Jay. She'd only taken one step away from the table when she felt him grab her wrist. She spun back around to see him smiling at her with his lazy lips and stubby teeth.

"If you really want to thank me," he said cheekily, gently pulling the book from her arms and placing them on the table, "you can buy me a drink and then tell me about whatever it is you've got all these books for." Abi had just looked at him with a stunned expression while he slipped back into his seat. "Well, go on then," he'd laughed before she jerkily made her way to the bar. Abi had never been so happy to not fit in.

" _The cool kids aren't cool to me; they're not cooler than we are."_

Another time he had stuck up for her was just after their first date. She'd walked into the café and saw Jay sat at a table with all of his work friends. She'd been meaning to ask him all day if he'd go over to her house that evening to help her re-arrange her room so she could fit the old TV from the loft in there. They'd discussed it when they had been on their date, but she'd never been specific for when she wanted him to help her.

She bought herself a hot chocolate and got him a tea before making her way over to the table he was sat at. He'd smiled widely at her as she approached while his friends had wolf-whistled and made whipping noises. She was starting to regret going over. He'd get embarrassed and be mean to her so he would look cool and Abi would have to pretend that it wasn't hurting her feelings. She knew Jay wasn't the type of guy to express his feelings openly, but he didn't need to be such a prat when it came to hers.

"Hi," Abi had started, trying to sound confident. "I bought you a tea."

"Thanks, Abs," Jay said, taking the cup from her. Meanwhile, the guys Jay was sat with had started making jokes that Abi decided to block out. Abi was not going to be made to feel inferior to a bunch of brain-dead, arseholes whose penises where probably as small as their IQ.

"I was wondering," Abi said, taking the plunge, "if you wanted to come over to mine later? My parents aren't home and my sister's out so-"

"Sorry, love. Jay's coming out with us tonight. He's gonna pull a _fit_ bird," a muscular, hairy man had cut her off, smirking at her when he talked about Jay pulling 'a fit bird'. Abi didn't care that he was insinuating that Abi didn't fall under the category of being 'a fit bird', but as she felt Jay's hand tighten around her wrist, she could tell he obviously did.

"Yeah, of course I'll come over," Jay said, not even looking at his friends as they groaned about his decision. Abi's eyebrows furrowed in confusing, but Jay had just kissed her palm and stood up from the table. "Come on," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I'll walk you home."

Once they were outside, Abi couldn't help questioning Jay's choice. Abi wouldn't have even been mad if Jay had decided to go out with those guys instead of spending the night with her. She knew he was going to get the mick taken out of him for choosing her, so she couldn't understand why he had.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Abi insisted, leaning into him while they walked. Jay had just laughed.

"Come on, Abs. Would _you_ want to spend a night with those guys?" Jay asked, smiling at her. When Abi thought about it like that, she could definitely see why Jay would want to do _anything_ other than go out with them.

"Yeah, but don't you have some kind of reputation you have to keep by being with the 'cool' people?" Abi asked, scoffing herself at how stupid it all sounded.

"If I ever get a reputation with that lot, feel free to shoot me," Jay said, rolling his eyes. "And," he added, "they are nowhere near as cool as you."

" _Find your grace, don't hide your face and let it shine."_

He'd also stuck up for just after their one year anniversary. Abi had, had the worst day at school _ever._ For starters, in her English class, someone had put her book in the shredder so she didn't have any notes for her end of year exam, which was in a month's time, and her teacher has lost a vital piece of her coursework that had taken her six hours to complete, meaning she was going to have to do it all over again. Then, after PE, Abi found that someone had put her jumper down the toilet and stolen the keys to her house, which she had to report to the teacher and everyone called her a snitch. After that, the boy sat behind her in maths stole her new school bag without her knowing and wrote vulgar things all over it in permanent marker. And, to top it all off, on her way home from school, a group of three boys from year eleven surrounded her and threw water balloons at her so she looked like a drowned rat.

As she was walking through the market on her quest to find Lauren, her shoes squelching with every step, she made eye contact with Lola, her best friend. Lola was looking at a pair of jeans at one of the clothes stalls, her daughter in the pram next to her, and she nearly dropped them when she saw Abi. Abi winced at the expression on Lola's face. She had been hoping she hadn't looked that bad, but obviously she was wrong.

"Abi, oh my God!" Lola exclaimed, quickly putting the jeans back and speed walking over to her. Abi wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to shiver as the cold, London wind brushed past her like barbed wire.

"Have you seen my sister?" Abi ground out through clenched teeth, trying desperately to stop them from chattering. Lola grabbed her hoddie from the bottom of Lexi's pram and wrapped it around Abi's shoulders.

"Yeah, I think she went into the Vic. Come on, I'll take you to her," Lola rushed out, herding Abi through the crowd of people who looked at Abi strangely. Abi just bowed her head in shame and tried not to make eye contact.

As Abi and Lola walked into the Vic, all conversation stopped. All eyes turned to Abi and she hated it. Lauren, who was sat at the bar with her cousin/boyfriend, Joey, rushed over with him following shortly after.

"Who the hell did this to you?!" Lauren yelled, taking all of Abi's appearance in. Abi _really_ didn't want to have this conversation here; not while everyone was watching.

"It doesn't matter," Abi said quietly, keeping her eyes glued to the floor.

"Of course it _matters,_ Abi," Joey said angrily while Lola laughed humourlessly. "I'm gonna kill them," he said, charging towards the door. Abi jumped in his way, eyes wide with alarm.

"No, Joey, please. Please don't, okay? It was just stupid kids. It's not a big deal. I don't want you to get in trouble," Abi pleaded, trying to make him calm down. He tightened his jaw and clenched his fists, but thankfully didn't move any further towards the doors.

"Oh, Abi… Your bag…" Lauren whispered sadly, noticing 'fat', 'ugly', 'frigid', and many other horrible things written all over it in black ink. _You can call them what you want, but at least they're observant,_ Abi thought to herself, not daring enough to say it out loud as she knew her sister would go mental.

"Can we please just go home? Someone stole my keys," Abi sighed, rubbing her hand over her face in distress. Her sister agreed to take her home and the four of them made their way to the outside of the Vic.

"I'll meet you there in a bit," Joey had said as Lauren wrapped her arm around Abi while Lola pushed Lexi and walked towards her house.

"Joey…" Abi had said warningly, to which he rolled his eyes and took a step away from them.

"I'm not going to do anything, Abs. I've just got to do something," he replied, before taking off running down the market strip.

After an hour of sitting in her living room with Lauren, who was pacing the room in fury, and Lola, who was desperately trying to rub the profanities off of Abi's bag, there was a knock at the door. Lauren practically sprinted out of the room to answer the door and made a noise as multiple sets of footsteps scattered around the hallway. Not even a second later, Jay, Joey, and Dexter came charging in, each holding one of the boys from the water balloon incident that happened earlier. Each boy had a bloody nose. Two of them were starting to get black eyes while the other one had a split lip. The boys Abi cared about were fine except for the fact that they were seething with anger. Jay was the worst. Jay looked like he was about to rip this boy's throat out with his bare hands and then use his lifeless body to beat the other two to death.

"You see that girl there?" Jay said menacingly, twisting the arm of the boy he was holding even further round the wrong way. It made Abi feel a bit sick. "Do you recognise her?" He spat. When none of the boys answered, he somehow got even angrier. "Do you?!" He bellowed, his voice echoing around house. The boys nodded jerkily, fear practically dripping from their eyes. "That girl is my girlfriend and these two's cousin. I swear to God if you ever _look_ at her again and I will hunt you down and kill you, got it?!" The boys nodded again and Jay through the one he was holding on the floor, Joey an Dexter doing the same shortly after.

"Now get out of my house," Lauren spat, watching the boys scramble to their feet and sprint for the door. Once Abi heard the door slam, she was on her feet.

"Joey, I told you not to do anything!" She exclaimed, taking her turn at pacing. Joey just smirked to himself, happy with the outcome of this situation.

"Technically, _I_ didn't do anything. You have your lovely boyfriend and your other cousin to thank for that," Joey said, excepting the high-five Dexter was offering. Now Abi was fuming.

"Don't _congratulate_ each other, Dexter! If your mum knew what you'd just down she'd kill you! You're already in enough trouble as it is!"

"I think my mum would be proud of me for sticking up for my family," Dexter retorted, rolling his eyes. "And it's not like you were going to tell us anyway."

"No, of course I wouldn't have because I knew you would do something stupid like this!" Abi yelled, feeling the blood boil under skin.

"Who did that to your bag?" Jay asked in an eerily quiet tone. Abi wanted to hit herself for not getting Lola to hide it when they came in. "Was it them?"

"No, i-it wasn't them-"

"Then who was it, Abi! Because they obviously need their head kicked in 'n all!"

"What has gotten into you?!"

"Stop shouting, please," Lola groaned, trying to keep Lexi calm. "Maybe we should just leave you two to it," she said, standing up and giving Abi a hug. "Call me if you need me, yeah?" Abi nodded before Lola left, Dexter following shortly after, giving Abi a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. Lauren and Joey decided they would go to Lauren's room to give them some space, but to just shout them if they wanted them. Then, it was just the two of them.

"I can't believe you would do this," Abi said, busying herself by tidying up the cushions on the sofa. Jay just tutted.

"What? You can't believe I would sort things while you hid away in your house?" He replied, his voice just above normal level. Abi spun around to face him, taking a few steps towards him.

" _That_ is _not_ sorting it, Jay. That is making things worse."

"At least they won't be bothering you again," Jay scowled, narrowing his eyes at Abi.

"You do realise you could go to prison for what you just did. Then what would happen, huh? Then you'd never be around to 'protect' me, would you?" Abi said bitterly, her hands shaking with anger.

"They're not going to go to the police," he sighed, turning away from her.

"You don't know that!" Abi exclaimed.

"What are you really worried about, Abi?" Jay asked, gripping her shoulders and shaking her slightly. "I thought you would be grateful."

"You really don't get it, do you? You've never actually been to my school, have you?" Jay was shocked at how angry Abi was. He'd never seen her this angry over something he'd done before. She would normally shout at him, but this time she didn't need to. She could have whispered her argument and it still would have had the same impact. "What? Do you think that because you gave three boys a good beating that it's over? Well, news flash, Jay; the whole school wants me to drop dead. So, if you're going to attack all the people who make my life a misery, I would invest in a gun or something to make the job easier." Jay couldn't believe what he was hearing. Abi was the nicest, kindest girl you could ever meet. Why did everyone hate her? Or, more importantly, why hadn't he known about this sooner?

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jay asked, his tone softening slightly.

"Because I was handling it, Jay. Today was just a bad day. You didn't need to get involved. You've just made everything ten times worse."

"I'm sorry, Abi. If I'd have known then I wouldn't have done it. But, you have to understand, this isn't something that should be happening. It's _bullying._ We need to fix it before it gets out of hand," Jay said, wrapping his arms around her waist cautiously. When she relaxed, he started to stroke her hair and kiss the top of her head. Jay did this whenever Abi got worked up. He was glad to see his trick was still working.

"I'll speak to one of my teachers tomorrow morning. But, you have to promise me, Jay, that this won't happen ever again, okay?" She said strongly. She didn't want anything happening to Jay because the kids at her school hated her. It wasn't fair for him to have to pay for her problems.

"Okay, I promise."

" _Leave us alone, 'cause we don't need your policies. We have no apologies for being…"_

Now, stood in the Vic with jay being called something as disgusting as a paedophile, Abi knew it was her time to return the favour. What had happened with Linzi wasn't Jay's fault. She's lied to him and now Jay was getting the blame for it. Even though Abi was dating Ben (mainly to get over Jay, but we won't go into that) Jay was still one of her closest friends and she wasn't going to watch him be exiled from everyone for one stupid mistake.

"You can't kick Jay out of the pub, Mick," Abi started, trying to keep the peace at first. She wasn't going to stand for this, but it was better to start off nicely than to go in all guns blazing.

"He committed a crime, Abi. We don't want people thinking that we're supportive of this. We can't have that sort of thing floating around," Mick had responded, glaring at Abi for even getting involved. Abi had just laughed. This was ridiculous.

"Okay then. Looks like Ben has to be barred as well considering he killed Heather. Oh, and Billy will have go as well seeing as he was involved in scams with Phil… Which means Phil is out, too. You should probably kick out Lee and Buster as well considering they tried to steal fish from a pond- Wait, weren't you involved in that as well? A bit hypocritical, Mick, don't you think? Anyway, Stacie needs to go because she killed Archie and is responsible for the death of Bradley. Also, Ronnie's got to go because she swapped her baby with Cat's… Do I need to go on?" Abi folded her arms over her chest and smiled sarcastically at the Carter. He wasn't going to get away with this.

"What are you even talking about?" Mick said angrily, leaning over the bar.

"It's just that you said Jay has to leave because he committed a crime, by accident – might I add, but there are people in here who committed crimes _on purpose_ and they're allowed to come in? So, let's get rid of them as well shall we?" Abi walked over to the door and pushed it open, holding it for the people she'd mentioned.

"You're off your nut," Mick scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

"Oh, I'm _sorry._ I didn't realise that admitting to a crime to make the punishments less severe meant that it completely changes what type of person you are," Abi laughed, looking around at all the ashamed faces of the people who had betrayed Jay.

"Don't speak to me like that," Mick spat.

"Or what? Are you going to bar me as well? You know what? Don't even worry about it. I'd rather rot in hell than be in the company of people who are willing to except the mistakes of people who lied, but not of those who own up and actually try to be better people. Come on, Jay. We can get a drink somewhere else." Abi took Jay by the arm and lead him out of the pub and into the street. As they walked, Jay took hold of Abi's arm and dragged her into an ally, gently pushing her against the wall and kissing her. She was going to protest, tell him that she was with Ben and that it was wrong, but she couldn't. A huge part of her that dominated her brain in that moment knew that she would always love; that, that wouldn't change if she stayed with Ben or got with a hundred different men. It was a cruel, hopeless fact that Jay and Abi where infinite. Nothing was going to change that.

"I knew I could count on you," Jay whispered as he pulled away, resting his forehead on hers. Abi just shook her head, moving her hands to cup his face.

"You don't owe them anything, Jay," she insisted, pecking him on the lips. "But," she continued, a sly smile sliding its way onto her face, "you do owe me a drink."


	5. Chapter 5

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 5.

Song: Stay High – Tove Lo

" _Gotta stay high all my life to forget I'm missing you."_

Abi banged her hands furiously on the locked kitchen door, scream until her lungs hurt. She had tears streaming down her face and she knew she looked a complete mess, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. She wanted her sister back. If that meant she had to get into a full blown fight with her to make her stop drinking, she would do it. The thought of Lauren desperately searching around the kitchen for even the smallest drop of alcohol made Abi feel sick. She didn't know what to do. Her mum was at work, her dad was with his new, slutty girlfriend that was tearing their family apart, and Cora was helping Dot at the laundrette. She needed help, but she had no idea who to ask. Who would want to help Abi with her psycho sister? It wasn't their problem. But, then again, it shouldn't have been Abi's.

"Lauren!" Abi sobbed, banging on the doors with all of her strength. "I want to help you!"

"Then tell me where it is!" Lauren screamed in response, a loud crash following after her piercing words.

"You're better than this, Lauren," Abi promised, trying to keep her tears at bay in order to stay strong for her sister.

"I hate you, Abi! I hate you and this family and I wish you were dead!" Lauren cried, making Abi cry even more. She knew she didn't mean it, but she couldn't think rationally in that moment. She needed help _now._ And, if her family weren't around to help, she'd just have to go to the person who was always there for her. She'd call the person who understood her and loved her even though she had all this crazy stuff going on in her life.

Her hands fumbled through her pockets as she looked for her phone before realising that it was locked in the kitchen with Lauren. Letting out a frustrated groan, she gathered her thoughts together before banging on the kitchen door again. If Abi couldn't bring help to Lauren, she would go and get it herself.

"I'll be back soon!" Abi yelled over the sound of smashing ceramic and shattering glass. "Don't do anything stupid!" _I think we're well past that point, Abi,_ she thought to herself as she bolted out of the house and across The Square.

When she got to her destination, she slapped the door with her fist like her life depended on it. Well, someone's life _did_ depend on it. It just wasn't hers. That's why she ignored the stares of the people that walked past and didn't even quiver at the expression on Phil Mitchell's face as he swung the door open with such rage that it slammed into the wall inside the house.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled, looking at Abi like her family had finally driven her completely insane. She didn't have time for a lecture. Lauren _needed_ her.

"Lauren's locked herself in the kitchen and I can't get her out and she might be hurt and she's looking for alcohol and-" Abi rushed out before being cut off.

"Woah, woah, slow down," Phil started, putting his hands on Abi's shoulders and shaking her. She wasn't making any sense and she knew it, but there wasn't any time. She was getting more frustrated and more upset by the second and she just needed someone to help her. She had never felt so desperate and hopeless in the whole of her life.

"Can you please just help me!" Abi yelled, punching the wall of the house in anger as tears started to trickle down her face and drop off of her jaw. Suddenly, she heard footsteps on the stairs before Ben and Jay appeared next to Phil, both looking very worried.

"What's going on?" Ben asked as Jay pushed past Phil and cupped Abi's face in his hands, scared eyes scanning her face quickly.

"Lauren…" Abi whimpered as she looked at him. She didn't need to say anything else as Jay was already running across The Square towards the Branning house with her, Phil, and Ben shortly behind him. They ran straight into the house (as Abi had left the door open in her panicked state) and to the still closed kitchen door. It didn't take long for Jay and Ben to get the door open, but, when she saw what was behind it, she sort of wished they hadn't bothered.

The first thing she noticed was the shards of glass that scattered the floor along with pieces of broken plates and coffee mugs. Then she saw the once whole revision cards that she had spent _hours_ making ripped into a hundred fragments that splayed over the table. Finally, she saw a smiling, intoxicated ghost of what used to be her sister sitting on the floor, downing a bottle of Jack Daniels that she'd managed to get by opening the locked cupboard with what appeared to be a steak knife.

Abi heard Ben let out a curse under his breath while Jay tightened his grip on her. But, Abi could barely feel it. She was too busy drowning in Lauren's dead eyes as she grinned at what she'd accomplished. She grinned like she'd won. The shameful part was that a small part of Abi thought Lauren actually had. She was tired of everything. Tired of fighting, tired of arguing, tired of trying. She'd let her mum deal with her. Speaking of which…

"Where's my phone?" Abi asked quietly, eyes slowly scanning the room for it. Lauren just let out a giddy laugh.

"What? You mean this?" Lauren smiled as she held up a deformed piece of metal with segments of broken glass clinging to it. It took Abi a minute to realise that it _was_ her phone and not just some wrecked scrap of metal. It looked like it had been put in a blender for an hour and the remains had been taken out, smashed with a hammer, and badly superglued back together. "We could have saved all this trouble, Abs," Lauren continued, her smile finally faltering into a bitter scowl. "But, you had to be a _bitch_ and hide it all away." Lauren's hands trembled as she brought the bottle up to her lips and took another big swig. It sounded like it hurt when she swallowed and Abi noticed the small wince Lauren made. "All I wanted was a drink," Lauren whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

Ben took a cautious step towards her and Lauren retracted, hugging the bottle to her chest. Ben kept moving forward until he was crouched in front of her and Abi was scared of what Lauren might do. She could see the knife she had used to open the cupboard just a few centimetres away from Lauren's fingers. In the state Lauren was, she could kill him.

"Let's go into the living room, yeah? We can watch some TV," Ben suggested, holding his hand out to Lauren. She shook her head slightly, looking at Ben in fear. "Come on, Lauren," he tried again, speaking softly, "you don't want to sit in this mess, do you?" After a few seconds, Lauren shook her head again and put her jittering hand in Ben's. He carefully pulled her to her feet and guided her to the living room, Jack Daniels still firmly gripped in her spindly fingers.

"I'll, um, I'll go get your mum," Phil said before leaving as well. Abi shut the kitchen door after him and pressed herself flat against it, closing her eyes. She couldn't see him, but she felt Jay's presence. He wasn't touching her. He wouldn't touch her until there was some sort of reaction. He knew Abi had been fighting her sister for so long. She looked tired. Frail. _Done._ She looked completely and utterly _done._

Abi let out a loud sob before sliding to the floor, hand pulling at her hair in stress. Jay quickly moved next to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his lap. She cried into his chest, sobbing her heart out as Jay stroked her hair. It killed him to see her like this. He didn't know how to make it better. He didn't know how to make it stop. If he could have switched positions with her, he would have. But, 'would' and 'could' weren't going to make a difference. All Jay could do was hold her a pray things got better.

"It's okay. You're okay. I'm here. I've got you," Jay murmured over and over again into her hair while she cried until, eventually, she just fell asleep. Jay managed to move them out of the way of the door in time before Tanya came storming in. She skidded to a stop at the sight of the kitchen, her eyes scattering around the room until they landed on Abi and Jay. Abi stirred slightly, but Jay kept stroking her hair and she fell back asleep.

"We can't live like this anymore," Tanya said, storming out of the room.

When Abi woke up again, she heard the front door slam and her sister's muffled shouts from what she presumed was outside. She squinted her eyes at Jay, her lashes sticking together with cemented mascara and dried tears. He smiled sadly at her and she snuggled into his chest, breathing in his specific scent. _Home,_ she thought as she did it. _Home and safe._

"Where's Lauren?" She whispered, closing her eyes as he rubbed his thumb gently across her cheek.

"She's gone, Abs" he replied quietly, continuing to sooth her.

"She needs help, Jay. She needs somebody to love her," Abi murmured, feeling herself slip back into sleep. She hadn't slept properly in days. All the shouting and fighting had kept her awake and it felt so _good_ to be like this with the person she loved the most.

"She knows you love her, Abi. Besides, you don't need to worry about this right now. Go back to sleep and I'll wake you up in a bit, okay?" Abi nodded slightly, sighing at the feel of Jay's heartbeat as she put her hand against his chest.

"I love you," Abi whispered, drifting away from the world.

"I love you more," Jay said as Abi fell back asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 6.

Song: Colors, Pt. II – Halsey.

" _I hope you make it to the day you're 28 years old."_

Abi's eyelids were made of stone as they fluttered open and closed every few seconds – hot, crimson liquid dripping through the lashes. Her skin bubbled with pain, but she didn't feel like she could move. She could faintly hear the sound of a siren and the sound of her dad's voice as he screamed her name. She didn't understand how she got here. She remembered being in the car with her dad as they drove to her mum's wedding. She remembered the feeling of spinning out of control and slamming into something much bigger than they were. She remembered everything going black after that. How long had she been asleep? A couple minutes? A couple _hours_? It made the throbbing in her skull unbearable and her eyes fluttered shut again. Whatever had happened could wait a little while. She was just so tired.

Abi was nearly an hour late and it was starting to freak Jay out. Abi was never late for anything. She definitely wouldn't be late for something as important as her mum's wedding. Jay knew something wasn't right. Despite that nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him that this was _really_ bad, he tried to reassure Tanya that she would probably turn up soon while ringing her again. He's called her fifteen times. He'd never had to call Abi _fifteen times._ Normally, he didn't have to call her more than once; twice at the maximum. She always had her phone on her, fully charged and with the volume up to its highest point, like she was always waiting for an important call. And she was constantly texting. It was usually him who she was texting, but when she was with him, she was always texting someone. It got to the point where he had to force her to turn off her phone when they were together. But today she was stuck in the car with Max and would do anything to distract herself from having a conversation with him. She would be on her phone. So why the hell wasn't she picking up?

Ten minutes went by before his phone started ringing. He was so deep in thought about where Abi might be that when the phone vibrated in his hands, he nearly dropped on the floor. When he looked at the screen and saw the Caller ID glow blissfully with the word 'Abi', he let out a sigh of relief. _God, you idiot,_ he thought to himself, a smirk playing on his lips. _They were probably just stuck in traffic._ He answered the phone and pressed it to his ear, forgetting to say 'hello'.

"Babe, you better be outside because I think your mum is about to kill her fiancé with her bejewelled stiletto," Jay laughed, not expecting the response he was about to get.

"Jay," a very emotional, sobbing Max Branning cried down the phone. "You… You need to get Tanya and Lauren a-and you need to get to the hospital." Jay could feel his blood freeze in his veins, the solidifying pressure on his heart causing it to crack.

"Where's Abi?" Jay asked slowly, quietly, like a prayer to someone above that everything was fine.

"I-It was an accident, Jay. It wasn't our fault. It wasn't my fault…" Max trailed off in a whisper, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than Jay. Jay felt like he couldn't breathe. He didn't understand. Abi was fine. They were going to meet at the church with her dad and she was going to sit next to him through the service, like they'd planned just over an hour before. She was fine. _Was._

Jay ended the call without saying goodbye, staggering towards Tanya and Lauren as he fumbled with the keys in his pocket. When he approached them, Lauren's face became grave and worried. She got the attention of a furious Tanya who was cursing her ex-husband and her daughter to Jane. As he tried to explain what happened, his throat swelled and his eyes stung. He explained to them what had happened and that they needed to _go._ No questions were asked; there didn't need to be. They were already sprinting towards his car, realising that there wasn't enough time,

When they got inside the hospital, Jay was searching frantically for any sign of Max; for any sign of _Abi._ Lauren was dragging him over to the desk, but he wasn't paying attention to what the receptionist was saying. He heard fragments of the conversation, like 'barely a pulse' and 'critical condition' and 'almost too late'. However, when he heard 'Room 463', he was off like a rocket. He sprinted down corridor after corridor, searching for the number – for the girl he loved more than anything in the world. By the time he got there, his legs wobbled and his lungs burned, but as he threw the door to her room open, he didn't care.

The first thing he saw was her. She had scratches and bruises all over her face and arms. Her delicate lips were purple and swollen. Her eyelids were translucent and frail as they rested over her striking eyes as if they were just managing to stay closed. Her silky, blonde hair was matted and crusty with her blood. Jay couldn't help but let out a small noise of horror. She didn't look like his Abi. His Abi was always happy and flowing with energy like it was electricity circulating in her bloodstream. His Abi would never look like this. She'd never allow it. She was better than scrapes and blemishes.

"She's okay. She's just asleep," Max whispered from the chair in the corner of the room, wiping tears from his cheeks. Jay was startled to see him there. He'd been so caught up on Abi that he hadn't even noticed he was in the room. He took a few shaky breaths before talking, trying to rid himself of his emotional state.

"What happened?" He whispered, rubbing a hand through his hair in distress, desperately trying to stop himself from crying.

"I don't really remember," Max answered honestly, feeling ashamed. "All I know is that we were driving to the church and the car spun out of control. We smashed into something at a really forceful pace and… Abi took the brunt of it."

"Is she going to be okay?" He whispered as tears trickled down his face. He didn't care anymore. He couldn't do this without her. He couldn't be part of life if she wasn't in it. He couldn't even think about growing up and having kids and getting married if it wasn't with her. It made him feel sick and he didn't _care_ who saw him cry.

"The doctors are saying she's going to be fine," he promised, letting out a small laugh. "And you know Abi. She's tougher than me and you put together." Jay laughed slightly as well as he stared at the floor, wiping his cheeks to get rid of his tears.

"Jay?.." He heard a fragile voice croak from behind them. He spun around quickly to see Abi squinting at him, the bright lights in the hospital room making it near impossible for her to keep her eyes open. He was by her side in seconds, his hand gripping hers as if is life depended on it. He was never going to let go. He was never going to let this happen again.

"I'll give you two some space," Max said, clearing his throat as he strode out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Once he was gone, Jay brought her hand to his lips and pressed hard, trying to bring the warmth back into her dead skin. He didn't try stopping the tears from falling from his eyes because he knew Abi wouldn't care. Abi never judged Jay. Abi loved Jay and Jay needed her more than anything. He needed her to love him and he need to love her. And his end of the bargain wasn't hard to do at all.

"Jay," Abi said again, softer and in a tone more like her normal voice. "I love you."

"Oh, you idiot. You stupid, stupid idiot. I was so worried about you," he whispered, breathing in the lingering perfume of her wrist. He needed to kiss her, smell her, hold her - anything to remind him that she wasn't dead. She was here with him and it made him feel secure.

"I'm sorry," she replied quietly, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Jay shook his head frantically, cupping her cheeks and kissing her. He broke away every few seconds to give her space to breathe, but he just kept kissing her.

"I love you. So much." He mumbled against her mouth, loving the way her breath was being panted onto his chin.

"Lie with me," she whispered in response, grabbing hold of his wrists and trying not to wince as she shuffled over in the bed. He helped her as she moved, rubbing circles on her back to ease the pain. "Please," she said, looking at his apprehension when he saw how much pain she was in. He eventually nodded and snuggled next to her, placing her head on his chest.

"So tired," she murmured, snuggling into him.

"Sleep, Abs. I'll be here when you wake up," he cooed, wrapping his arms around her cold body.

She fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat, knowing she was going to have to try and keep him as hers for good. He fell asleep to the sound of her breathing, knowing there was nothing she could do to push him away.


	7. Chapter 7

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 7.

Song: Secret Love Song – Little Mix (ft. Jason Derulo.)

" _Why can't I hold you in the street? Why can't I kiss you on the dancefloor?"_

This argument had been going on for too long, but there was no way Abi was going to back down. Normally, she wouldn't mind that Jay was over protective, but this was just ridiculous. It was her _prom_ , for crying out loud. And she was going whether he liked it or not.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Abi huffed from the opposite end of the living room to Jay, afraid that if she got too close she'd punch him right in his beautiful (and irritating) face.

"The 'big deal', Abi, is that I don't want _my_ girlfriend dancing with some prissy school boy while I'm not around to make sure that his hands stay on your shoulders," Jay replied angrily, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. Abi's blood was starting to turn from a simmer to boiling hot as she felt her face got red with rage.

"For starters, I'm going with my friends so there will be no dancing with 'prissy school boys'. Secondly, if I was going to be dancing with a boy – which I'm not – I am more than capable of keeping his hands and any other part of him in a position that shows I'm faithful to you and that me and said boy are nothing more than friends. Finally, this isn't even about the dance; this is because you don't trust me which makes me question the whole foundation of our relationship and, trust me, that's _not_ good." Abi was out of breath once she'd finished her rant and Jay looked slightly taken aback. He'd expected her to agree with him like she usually did on these sorts of things, but this time she didn't. Jay didn't know how to handle Abi when she didn't agree with him. It usually resulted in arguments like the one they were having now, but he hated it. She was right; he didn't trust her. But, that's because he loved her. And he knew that sometimes you didn't get it both ways, so you have to pick the one you want more.

"And if you had any respect for our relationship, you wouldn't _want_ to go to this thing without me," Jay countered, feeling his voice starting to rise as he knew the argument was going to end. Abi's bottom lip was becoming wobbly and she was blinking more than usual. She was going to cry. Jay _never_ got to see her cry after arguments. She either left or kicked him out. He didn't know why; maybe she didn't want him to think she was weak, maybe it was something else Jay didn't know about. He was sort of glad it was nearly over. He didn't think he could take another second of listening to the same points being repeated over and over again.

"You were invited, Jay, but you said – and I quote – "why would I want to want to spend my time at some crappy dance with you?" So don't tell me I don't have respect for our relationship when you don't even want to spend time with me. And don't try to make me out to be the bad guy here, either. _You don't trust me."_

"You know what? You're right; I don't trust you. And I'm not going to look like a mug when I found out you got with someone at your oh-so-precious prom," Jay spat, grabbing his bag off the table and slinging it over his shoulder. He started making his way towards the door until her voice, as quite as a whisper but as deadly and certain as a poisonous dart, stopped him dead in his tracks.

"If you walk out that door, we're over."

If anyone had ever witnessed the story of Jay and Abi's relationship, they would know that they had broken up and gotten back together nearly a thousand times. It was probably the only constant occurrence in their relationship. Abi had said that line before, and so had Jay. So, of course, he didn't take her seriously. In fact, he smiled, feeling like he had all the power in the world as he walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Two weeks went by and Jay had heard nothing. She hadn't called. She hadn't text. She hadn't even _looked_ at him when they were in the same room together. And, now, it was the night of her prom. He knew she would be dressing up in something gorgeous that would make his heart stop and his head spin. He knew all of her friends would be encouraging her to move on, to dance with one of the boys that had been eyeing her up all night. _'What harm is it going to do?'_ Jay could imagine them saying. ' _You don't have a boyfriend to worry about anymore, Abi. It's time to move on.'_ Jay did not want her to move on. However, he didn't want to back down either. This meant he was sat in the Mitchell household on a Friday night, moping around, checking all of his social media accounts for any sight of Abi with another boy – or just Abi in general. And it was pissing Shirley right off.

"Okay, this is officially beyond ridiculous now!" She snapped, slamming the spoon she was using to stir their stew with down on the counter with a loud _clang._ Jay's head shot up from his phone to look at the older woman and he could practically see the annoyance in her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jay muttered moodily, focusing his attention back on Abi's Instagram page. He jumped when Shirley yanked the phone from his hand and put it down next to the spoon, pulling up a chair at the table. "Oi! You can't-!" Jay started to protest, but was cut off by a stern look.

"Do you love Abi?" Shirley asked, trying desperately not to scream at the idiocy of the boy in front of her. The fact that he just rolled his eyes and tutted did not help to restrain her.

"Of course I do," Jay scoffed, looking at her with a glare.

"Then what the hell are you doing sat here? Why aren't you with her at that prom?" She questioned, part of her actually curious about his answer.

"Why should _I_ be the one to apologize?! _She's_ the one in the wrong here!"

"Why should _she_ not go to prom because _you_ are insecure?" Shirley countered, mimicking how pathetic he sounded.

"I love her. I don't trust her. She can't have both," Jay said, certain he was correct. It was at this point that Shirley's expression softened as she remembered how this boy had been brought up. At that moment she remembered that this boy had been taught never to trust anyone… Because trusting people meant getting hurt. Trusting someone made the value of the losing them quadrupole with the amount of pain you received. Trust was a luxury only the people who could afford it could gain. Nobody gave Jay both options; no one except Abi.

"Then how come you get both from Abi?" The question stumped Jay. He'd never noticed that he did get both options. Abi loved him _and_ trusted him. He'd just never done it back.

"I-I don't know," Jay answered honestly, trying to wrap his head around the fact. Shirley reached across the table and took his hands in hers, smiling slightly.

"Maybe it's because she's not afraid to."

Realization hit Jay like a truck. He _was_ afraid to trust Abi. There was no doubt about it. He's never been able to trust _anyone._ He'd never been given the chance. And now he had this big commitment and he'd handled it completely wrong. Maybe you could have both if you were willing to except it; if you were willing to try. All Jay needed to do was try.

"I need to go," Jay said, shooting up from his seat.

"Not dressed like that you can't," Shirley laughed. _Young love,_ she thought, _it's messier than a train wreck._ "It's a prom, you idiot. You need to wear a suit. You can't just turn up in tracksuit and hope for the best." Jay nodded in response before sprinting up the stairs to get changed. Shirley was right. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly.

It was pouring with rain by the time Jay had sprinted round to The Vic. Unfortunately for him, he didn't own a car or enough money to pay for a taxi and the school was a twenty minute walk away from his house. He was going to be soaked by the time he got there, but he didn't care. He was going to get at least one dance with Abi tonight even if it killed him.

He was about to keep going until he saw a in a long, pastel pink dress emerge from around the corner. Her white, suede heels where splatted with mud and dirty water, exactly like the bottom of her dress. Wisps of her blonde locks that had fallen from her intricate bun and were clinging to her mascara-stained face. Her expression portrayed nothing but deep sadness and Jay couldn't tell if she was crying or not. Yet she still left Jay awestruck. She was his drowning beauty.

"Abi?" He called out over the rain, moving towards the drenched figure. Her head shot up to look at him and she wiped her cheeks profusely.

"Not now, Jay. I'm really not in the mood," she replied when he was close enough to hear her. She tried to walk past him, but he gripped her frozen, dead arms and held her in place.

"Why aren't you at the prom?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes. She just sighed and pulled her arm forcefully out of his grip.

"Well, that would be your fault."

"What?" Jay asked, confused. She started walking again, taking a few steps away from him, and he was going to let her leave, but she made a loud groan in distress and spun to face him, marching towards him with a poking finger and a mission on her mind.

"This is all your fault! It was my _prom_ , Jay. The one night I get to look beautiful and have people look at me like I'm something special and you had to ruin it! I was sat at that stupid table all night with non-alcoholic, shitty punch that tasted absolutely disgusting, turning down some of the most popular boys in school who were asking _me_ to dance with _them_ because all I could think about was _you_ while all my friends were playing tonsil tennis with their dates! So you don't have to worry because nothing I could ever do could make you look more of a mug than I do right now!" Jay grabbed the wrist that was attached to the hand poking his chest and pulled her closer to him.

"You spent the whole night thinking about me?" Jay asked, partly to clarify, mostly to boost his ego.

"Don't you _smirk_ at me, Jay Mitchell. I swear to God, I'llmmm…" He cut her off by crashing his lips to hers, embedding his hand in her hair and gripping her waist like his life depended on it. She was reluctant for a few moments, but her arms soon wrapped around his neck and she was kissing him back hungrily. He swiped his tongue slowly along her bottom lip and slipped into her mouth as she moaned, loving the feeling of the rain beating down on the back of his neck.

He pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against hers as they panted at the aftermath of the moment. He pushed the tendrils of hair away from her face and wiped away the mascara stains with his cuff. She placed gentle, quick pecks to any part of his face she could reach. His jaw, his chin his bottom lip, the corner of his mouth. Everywhere she could.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, realising exactly what he needed to say. "For everything. I never realised that you could have it both ways. I didn't know you could have love with trust and trust with love. The two just didn't seem to correlate. But then Shirley made me see that you give me both. You give me both options every single day and I never return it. And I'm so sorry I didn't see it before because you deserve everything. You deserve all the love and trust I can muster because that's how special you are. And, if you'll forgive me, I'll spend every day for the rest of our lives proving to you that you can have both and so much more."

"I love you," she whispered in response, a few tears escaping the corners of her glistening eyes. Jay just smiled in return, planting a kiss on her lips before adjusting his hands onto her waist.

"Dance with me," he said, nudging her gently in persistence.

"But, there's no music… And we're in the middle of the road…"

"Abigail Branning, I am going to dance with you tonight even if I have to force you," Jay says, causing Abi to laugh and give in and dancing with him. They must have spent an hour swaying in the rain to nothing but the sound of the droplets smashing against the cobblestones. They didn't care that they were getting strange looks from passing punters or anger honks from cars trying to get past. Two weeks ago, Abi would have never thought she would be dancing in the rain instead of in the dry school hall, but, now she was in the moment, she wouldn't have had it any other way.


	8. Chapter 8

Jay and Abi iPod Shuffle: Chapter 8.

Song: Higher Love – Grace Grundy.

" _Bring me a higher love. Where's that higher love I keep thinking of?"_

Abi took steady breaths as she put one foot in front of the other, careful not tread on her dress or trip in her excruciatingly high heels. She could feel Lauren's eyes burning into her soul already and the day had only just started.

"Head up," she'd said about an hour before. "Be confident, Abi. Show them who they're supposed to look at."

Even though Abi appreciated Lauren's advice, she'd always hated being the centre of attention. She hated people looking at her. She had to laugh at the fact that she said that, but then did the vainest, most attention seeking thing she would do. Despite what her mother said, Abi had always believed that marriage was about getting dressed up to have people stare at you while you flaunted your love in their faces like you were a goal for them to achieve. She always said she'd never get married. What was the point in having a stupid piece of paper that sealed the fact that you loved each other if you both knew you did anyway?

However, this was before Jay Mitchell, of course.

This was the boy who was so against emotions that he might as well have signed his name with the words 'anti-Christ'. After the death of his father, he hadn't opened up to anyone. He hated his step-mother, Dawn. He barely tolerated the replacement father, Billy Mitchell. He didn't want anyone in his business. And then Abi came along and it was like the sun had burst through the storm. She taught him how to love again by unknowingly making him fall in love with her. And he didn't want to marry her because it was the 'next stage in their relationship'. He didn't want to marry so he had something to hold against her; something to mark her as his. He didn't have a reason to marry her. He didn't need one. But, if anyone asked, he would tell them he wanted things to stay sunny, and he would get butterflies in his stomach when he would see Abi smile at him because she was the only one who understood what the hell he was going on about.

As Abi got closer to him, she dared to look up. He was smiling, but it was dazed and sloppy. He wasn't even nervous. Meanwhile, Abi was shaking so much she felt like she was going to collapse. She took his hand as she walked up the few stairs to where he was stood. And she looked at him as her heart pounded in her chest, eyes wide in alarm as she tried not to look at the family and friends that were all staring. She only relaxed when she felt Jay give her hands a squeeze and gently mouthed the words "just look at me."

"We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments and to cherish the words which shall unite Abigail Branning and Jay Mitchell in marriage.

"Marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, and who trust in that love, who honour each other as individuals, and who chose to spend the rest of their lives together.

"This ceremony will not create a relationship that does not already exist between you. It is a symbol of how far you have come these past few years. It is a symbol of promises you will make to each other to continue growing stronger as individuals and as partners. No matter what challenges you face, you now face them together, and no matter how much you succeed, you will now succeed together. The love between you joins you now as one." The officiant looks between Jay and Abi and smiles, which for some reason makes Abi want to vomit. He looks away from the two of them and takes a small step back.

"The Bride and Groom have a few words to share," He finishes, gesturing to Abi to start her vows.

Abi, quite nervously and awkwardly, pulls a folded piece of paper out of the side of her shoe with shaky hands. As she rises, she can hear Jay trying his hardest not to laugh, which makes Abi blush with embarrassment. She quickly unfolds the piece of paper and scans her eyes over the words, but it doesn't feel right. It feels too staged. God knows Jay and Abi don't have the time or the energy to be fake. So she takes a leap of faith and folds the piece of paper back up and dropping it on the floor. Jay looks at her quizzically, almost looking frightened, as she clears her throat and plays with her hands.

"I, um, I wrote down this speech to say at this point about how much I love Jay and how I couldn't live without him and all the other mushy, cliché things to boost his ever-growing ego," Abi can here a few giggles and chuckles, but she doesn't take her eyes off of the man in front of her. "But that's just not us, is it? We're not ever going to be mushy or cliché because we know that's not what life has planned for us. It's not how 'Jay and Abi' do things," she takes a deep breath as Jay smirks, looking at Abi with complete adoration.

"The first time I realised I liked you was on our first date. I remember you'd put so much aftershave on that you smelt like you'd lived with a seventy year old man for the whole of your life and you'd left your wallet at the laundrette so we had to nick chips for Ian Beale. Everything had gone wrong that day and yet you'd still managed to make me laugh until my eyes stung and my stomach hurt. And I remembered having butterflies when you held my hand and walked me home. It was an awful date, but it pretty much started the definition of our relationship and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

"The first time I knew I loved you was when I ruined our date that night in the car and you told me you were going to go after Lola. The thought of you being with someone else made me feel sick and so heartbroken that I locked myself in my room for the whole weekend and cried. Lauren was the only person I would let in because I was afraid she would kick my head in if I didn't. And, even though I was so mad and upset with you, I told my dad that it was because I'd fallen out with Bernadette that I was bawling my eyes out. The idea of you getting hurt was worse than the idea of you going after Lola. I guess it made me realise that I needed you and I hated being dependant on people. And, yeah, it wasn't the best way to realise I was in love with you, but at the same time, it was perfect. It made us stronger.

"The first time I realised that you were it for me was after Lauren collapsed on my birthday. I remember you holding my hand in the waiting room and wrapping your arms around me when I cried. I remember being so tired and just feeling so glad that you were there. I never wanted that feeling to go away. I wanted to have you close forever. And I'm afraid that's how it's always going to be.

"Finally, that brings us to today. This is the first time I've ever thought of the aspect of marriage as more than just a scrap of paper with two signatures on it. And I still think that. But I also think that it wouldn't matter if we were signing the back of a cereal box or engraving our names into a plate of gold. Because it may just be a scrap of paper, but it's ours, it's us, and that's all that really matters."

Jay wiped his eyes discreetly once Abi was finished and swallowed hard, realising it was his turn. He was overcome with emotions after Abi's declaration and he wasn't sure he'd actually be able to form words. He felt Abi run her thumb over his knuckles and start to draw circled when she got to the marriage finger. It was her way of telling him things were going to be okay. It gave him a small amount of enthusiasm to actually speak.

"Well, there's no way I'm going to top that, is there?" He joked, earning a few laughs – including one from Abi. "I've never really been any good with words either, so I think I'll keep this short." He glanced at the people watching and ignored the urge to pull the vows he'd written from his pocket. "When I was sixteen years old, I fell in love with a girl who, at the time, was never destined to be my future. If you'd have told me back then that I would have ended up marrying Abi Branning, I probably would have laughed in your face. You see, that's not because I was older or because she wasn't just as beautiful and brilliant as she is today. It's because Abi Branning was like caviar and I was like those chips we stole from the chip shop on our date. Abi Branning was the sort of girl boys like me wished they could have. And God knows why you chose to love me back, Abs, but I ain't got a clue.

"You were the only person who could bring me out of the rotting hole I was stuck in and show me how to live again. You were the only person I could go to when I was feeling sad or lonely because you were the only person who understood. You're always the only one that understands me. You're the only person I could have ever fallen in love with. And I could bet money on the fact that my dad is looking down on this right now and thanking his luck stars that you settled for me. I know you say all the time that we're equal and whatever, but to me, you're always going to be the most special thing I will ever come across. And I promise you with this ring that I will spend the rest of my life trying to give you the same amount of happiness you give me every day. Maybe I can make your life a bit more sunny too."

Abi managed to compose herself enough to put Jay's ring on his fourth finger as he did the same to her. When they were pronounced husband and wife and they kissed, it was like time itself stopped and watched and waited for it to be over before carrying on. And Abi happily signed that piece of paper on the dotted line as 'Abi Mitchell' right next to Jay, and Jay was deliriously happy to realise that, when they got outside, the sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky.


End file.
